Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

We're meat eaters around here. I've only successfully made one other meatless meal that we both really loved, kept us satisfied, and that I would certainly make again. But, I was really looking to keep costs down this week and went to the pantry and fridge for things I already had on hand. It's certainly nothing original and nothing terribly spectacular, but they turned out really good.

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients:
(All ingredients can be adjusted based on how many enchiladas you are making; I made seven.)
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
enchilada sauce (I used leftovers of the sauce I used for the Avocado Enchiladas), about 2 c.
1/2 block 2% sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
onions, chopped
shredded colby jack cheese
corn tortillas

1. Heat black beans on stovetop or  in microwave until warm, but not mushy. I added some garlic powder for flavor. Re-heat enchilada sauce.

 

 

2. Quick "fry" tortillas in oven (spray tortillas with cooking spray and cook on baking sheet in oven set to 350 until they are just pliable).

3. Fill tortillas with beans, cheddar cheese, and onions (I don't eat onions like that, so only Bill got onions). Roll and place seam side down in baking dish.

4. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over enchiladas. Top with colby jack cheese.

5. Bake in 350 degree oven until cheese melts, about 5-10 minutes.

Sissy's Variations:
As I mentioned, I didn't use onions since I don't like them. Bill also had his topped with extra chopped onions. I'd like to try these with different beans just to experiment, but these were great as is!

Mexican Rice

I really like Mexican rice. A lot of time at Mexican restaurants, I'll order double rice instead of beans. No, that's not the healthiest option, but I like, darn it! I've tried for a long time to get a good homemade Mexican rice. I don't really like the boxed stuff because they have too much sodium and other stuff.

So, I wanted to make a side dish to go with the Avocado Enchiladas and decided to try once again to attempt  the rice.

Ingredients:
low sodium chicken broth
rice
shallots, chopped
onion, chopped
garlic, chopped
jalapeno, chopped
olive oil and/or cooking spray
canned tomatoes (I had a can of petite diced)
frozen corn
cilantro, chopped

Heat olive oil and/or cooking spray in pan over medium high heat. Saute onion, garlic, and shallot until soft. Add rice and saute until light golden brown. This is one of my favorite tricks for adding more flavor to rice.

In same skillet or in a sauce pan, mix chicken broth and rice, and cook according to directions (I used regular rice, so mine cooked for 20 minutes). Once rice is cooked, add tomatoes with juice (I only ended up using about 3/4 of the can. Add corn (I set out to thaw slightly and it thawed the rest of the way once added to the hot rice). Add cilantro right before serving.

Sissy's Variations:

I didn't have much jalapeno, so next time I will add more of that.

Avocado Enchiladas

There are no words to describe the greatness of this dish. I knew the minute I saw the recipe that I had to make them as soon as possible. Basically it takes two of my favorite things--guacamole and enchiladas and makes them into one fabulous meal.

I also liked that this was a meatless meal. We had it the night after we had eaten steaks for dinner, so it was a perfect counterpoint to that. This meal is a definite keeper.


Recipe (from Gillian's Goodies blog)
Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1/8 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Lime juice
1/4 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 tomato, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp. cumin
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 flour tortilla
Enchilada sauce
A little grated sharp Cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese
Additional cilantro leaves

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Smush up the avocado in a glass bowl. Add the onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin, tomatoes, jalapeno, lime/lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Mix together as you would if you were making guacamole (um, this really is a guacamole!)

2. Spoon the avocado mixture into the tortillas and roll them up. Place tortillas in the prepared baking dish and cover with enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with additional cilantro just before serving.


Sissy's Variations:Like it says above, this is just guacamole, so I made my usual. I decided to make my own enchilada sauce so I could control things like sodium (recipe below). I also used corn tortillas because that's how we make them in Texas! I used 2% milk sharp cheddar, so it wasn't as pretty when it melted, but it was still really good.

A trick for easy to roll corn tortillas: make sure you fry them first. Another trick: fake fry them. In my continuing effort to make things "lighter," but still wanting to have the same effect, I discovered that cooking spray is a girl's best friend for this. I used to do them on in a pan, but one night while making tacos, I tried putting them on baking sheets sprayed with cooking oil. A couple of minutes on either side (depending on how crispy you want them; for these, they just need to be pliable).

Red Enchilada Sauce (from Cooking Light)Ingredients
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth, divided
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (28-ounce) can tomato purée (I used crushed tomatoes)

Preparation
Heat 1/4 cup chicken broth in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook for 5 minutes or until tender and liquid evaporates. Add the remaining broth, chili powder, and remaining ingredients; stir well. Partially cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.